


Fragments

by Aiman_T_Syed



Category: Original Work
Genre: Apologies, Bubbly, Desperate, Devotion, English poetry, Heartache, Life blood, Little, My Poetry, Original work - Freeform, Pain, Peace, Poems, Poetry, Rose - Freeform, Words, beat - Freeform, curse, english poems, fragments, friends - Freeform, garden, maybe? - Freeform, scabbed heart
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-25
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-10 20:41:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 19
Words: 1,574
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28313244
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aiman_T_Syed/pseuds/Aiman_T_Syed
Summary: Short, free-form poems. original work. Poems that are (mostly) based on emotions)Come find me onInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/aiman.t.syed/Medium: https://aiman-t-syed.medium.comRoyal road: aiman-t-syed
Kudos: 3





	1. Fragments

A shattered crystalline carpet  
From my feet to yours.  
But that is not me  
Those are not mine.  
Those shards,  
Sharp and brittle  
Are too fragile,  
Mine lie beneath veins  
Crimson and blue.  
Dull yet slowly,  
Surely,  
Pricking their way through.  
They will bleed me dry,  
Drop by drop,  
Streaked across surfaces,  
In agonised glory,  
Like an artistic expression,  
A sublime thought,  
A foretold prophecy,  
An undeniable frisson,  
But never  
A sudden mess  
That shatters  
So openly across the floor.  
Unveiled and bare  
To be crunched  
Under feet  
Or mocked by scathing  
Unsympathetic eyes.  
That is not me  
Those are not mine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short, free-form poems. original work. Poems that are (mostly) based on emotions)
> 
> Also posting on  
> Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aiman.t.syed/  
> Medium: https://aiman-t-syed.medium.com


	2. Beat

A yell. A word-  
And I cower  
Something inside,  
Recoils.  
Like a snake pulling back.  
But my hands are empty  
Mouth, toothless  
Arms, useless  
Limbs, force-less  
What will they change  
What can they change  
Will they answer  
The beat  
That thumps  
That craves  
That can move  
Mountains and moons.  
If I could but  
Gather something within  
To move them-  
-Myself-  
Anything.  
A breath pries my lips open  
To a soundless whisper  
The vowels fall  
A call gone unheard.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short, free-form poems. original work. Poems that are (mostly) based on emotions)
> 
> Also posting on  
> Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aiman.t.syed/  
> Medium: https://aiman-t-syed.medium.com


	3. Rose

There is a rose  
In a glass  
A protected beauty  
In the dark.  
Soft lights and bright petals  
Draw  
My hands.  
But the past reverberates-  
Rattles-  
Vibrates,  
Out of its shackles.  
Like a monster clawing open  
Its bars.  
It would rather blind  
My eyes  
Than let them taint  
A beauty  
Out of my grasp.

There is a rose  
In a glass.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short, free-form poems. original work. Poems that are (mostly) based on emotions)
> 
> Also posting on  
> Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aiman.t.syed/  
> Medium: https://aiman-t-syed.medium.com


	4. Maybe?

A hand held out,  
A hand not taken.  
I,  
Am me,  
Sunflowers and cookies.  
Voice,  
Not a chatter  
But prosody.  
You, are you.  
Not silence and shadows  
But neither  
Are you,  
Sunshine nor poetry.  
A hand held out  
A hand to be taken.  
There is no chasm between us  
Nor a plea to be heard  
Then, what stops you,  
Or me,  
To breach these distances  
But mere speculation.  
Of you, and me.  
You care not for them  
And neither do I  
Then  
A hand held out  
A hand  
Finally  
taken.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short, free-form poems. original work. Poems that are (mostly) based on emotions)
> 
> Also posting on  
> Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aiman.t.syed/  
> Medium: https://aiman-t-syed.medium.com


	5. Heartache

These were books that you liked  
And plants  
That bloomed just for you.  
This chair was yours,  
As was that  
Fork and spoon.  
There is a dent in the air  
Where you used to be  
Sitting at the stairs  
Waiting for me.  
These memories slip  
Into my eyes  
Without permission  
Or hesitation.  
Did I ask for this heartache,  
Or did I carve it  
With my own hands?  
There's no soul to answer.  
There's no answer.  
Only footsteps in ashes  
Forever pressed  
Behind my eyelashes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short, free-form poems. original work. Poems that are (mostly) based on emotions)
> 
> Also posting on  
> Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aiman.t.syed/  
> Medium: https://aiman-t-syed.medium.com


	6. Life blood

A rift in the right  
Set it oozing.  
My work and my life.  
Crimson and carmine  
My life blood  
Seeping, flowing,  
Green.  
A teaspoon of honey.  
Is it bitter? Or sweet?  
Could it cure  
This river  
Of uncertainty?  
My mouth, un- tasting  
My eyes, unseeing.  
Everything slips,  
Mixes,  
Scatters,  
Is forever unknown.  
Becomes  
Only  
My own.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short, free-form poems. original work. Poems that are (mostly) based on emotions)
> 
> Also posting on  
> Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aiman.t.syed/  
> Medium: https://aiman-t-syed.medium.com


	7. Scabbed heart

Stand there for me  
And do not move.  
Let me reach out  
With these hands  
And hold onto yours.  
A heart is meant to love  
And that's where it always turns.  
Even as a mess of flesh-  
Wounded,  
Bleeding,  
Thumping,  
In these little hands.  
It beats to love  
And pains ripped seams-  
But still moves  
Dripped in agony.  
Stand there for me  
And do not move.  
Let me reach out  
With my scabbed heart  
And hold onto yours  
In kindness, in comfort,  
With love.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short, free-form poems. original work. Poems that are (mostly) based on emotions)
> 
> Also posting on  
> Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aiman.t.syed/  
> Medium: https://aiman-t-syed.medium.com


	8. Words

A word.  
A word sits  
In my throat.  
I try to sound it out  
And my voice catches  
At its edges.  
Hollow,  
Echoing,  
Empty.  
Another word  
Is tied,  
To the bottom of my heart.  
It sinks,  
And takes me  
To an abyss.  
I hold both words  
In either of  
my hands.  
It is empty,  
It is sad.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short, free-form poems. original work. Poems that are (mostly) based on emotions)
> 
> Also posting on  
> Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aiman.t.syed/  
> Medium: https://aiman-t-syed.medium.com


	9. Peace

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Named peace for the meaning of Salome. Still wondering if I should just name it Salome instead

I am but  
Dissolved despair.  
Thick, hungry,  
Boundless despair.  
I am smoke.  
Rising,  
Formless, ashy,  
Broke.  
I am ink.  
Blotched, black,  
Dripping,  
Stained.  
I am a sentence,  
Alone.  
A soliloquy,  
A monologue,  
Salomé.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short, free-form poems. original work. Poems that are (mostly) based on emotions)
> 
> Also posting on  
> Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aiman.t.syed/  
> Medium: https://aiman-t-syed.medium.com


	10. Curse

She says your name  
And turns it into  
A curse.  
Calls endearments,  
That catch on her teeth,  
Twist on her lips,  
Turn into slurs.  
These people,  
That smile with their cheeks  
And bile with their tongues.  
Like her,  
That make you  
Hate,  
Shudder-  
Cringe,  
Pull your hair,  
Make it so  
You can't bear.  
Your name,  
That's now  
A shackle,  
A curse,  
A seething snare.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short, free-form poems. original work. Poems that are (mostly) based on emotions)
> 
> Also posting on  
> Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aiman.t.syed/  
> Medium: https://aiman-t-syed.medium.com


	11. Friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dedicated to my friends

Where do I even begin  
To measure,   
These flowers  
One by one.  
Where do I even begin   
To measure,   
This love ,  
Freely given.   
On what scale   
Would it fit,   
Reach the ends  
Of which yardstick.   
This love,   
This friendship,   
Given so freely,   
Endlessly.  
Even in all my years  
Come and gone,   
I wouldn't be able,   
couldn't put a label,  
To all that's been   
Given to me.  
So I place a flower,   
And then another.  
One by one,   
To pay you back.   
With one I say,  
"Stay by me".  
Another spells  
"Love you dearly".  
A bouquet,   
"I wish you well"  
A garden,   
"I wish you happy".  
Most importantly,   
I love you all  
With my entirety.


	12. Devotion

I do not see,  
But I feel.  
I feel the warmth  
At my fingertips.  
I do not know,  
The colour  
Of your hair.  
But I know,  
Their texture  
Anywhere.  
I don't know,  
When you stand behind me,  
But I know  
The hand  
That holds kindly.  
Have I read vows of devotion?  
I do not know.  
For me,  
There's always you,  
Who carries me  
While I sleep.  
Soothes me  
When I seize.  
Knows if  
I ever sneeze.  
I do not see,  
But I can trace  
The shape of  
Your hand, your warmth,  
Your face.  
I do not see  
But I don't need eyes.  
To hold your hand  
Unfailingly, always,  
By my side.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short, free-form poems. original work. Poems that are (mostly) based on emotions)
> 
> Also posting on  
> Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aiman.t.syed/  
> Medium: https://aiman-t-syed.medium.com


	13. Garden

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another garden XD. Consider commenting

I have a key in my hand,  
Key to my secret garden.  
In other rooms,  
Other wonders lie.  
Bigger, brighter,  
Curiouser, light.  
What difference do they  
Make to me.  
They are not mine.  
This key is  
A treasure in itself,  
For it  
I leave everything behind.  
For beginnings that bloom  
For wonders that sparkle,  
For everything I touch  
Becomes mine.  
I think not of other rooms,  
Other wonders,  
Other places.  
For what would  
Bring me such joy,  
But freedom from  
Empty cages.  
Cutting breezes,  
Ghastly gazes.  
In my garden,  
I tend,  
I swing,  
I sing.  
In my garden,  
Where nothing holds,  
I become anew.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short, free-form poems. original work. Poems that are (mostly) based on emotions)
> 
> Also posting on  
> Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aiman.t.syed/  
> Medium: https://aiman-t-syed.medium.com


	14. Bubbly

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A happy one today

A bubbling in your chest,  
A sparkling in your eyes.  
An energy that lifts,  
Your cheeks into smiles.  
There's much to look forward to,  
The day has just begun.  
You're part of the songs it sings,  
And its daily rhythms.  
A comfortable presence by your side,  
A person to share delights.  
You know you are not alone,  
As you take in the sights.  
It's almost unknown to you,  
This peace that is your home.  
It seeps in and settles,  
Into your very bones.  
You had never thought  
You'd reach this day,  
But now that you're here.  
You'll carry this gem in your heart  
Forever and anywhere.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short, free-form poems. original work. Poems that are (mostly) based on emotions)
> 
> Also posting on  
> Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aiman.t.syed/  
> Medium: https://aiman-t-syed.medium.com


	15. Apologies

"I'm sorry"  
You say,  
And  
I want to tell you  
"It's alright".  
But the words don't come out,  
Try as I might.  
Ribs clamped on words,  
Dirt in my mouth,  
Dirt in my eyes.  
"I'm sorry"  
You say ,  
And it brings no respite.  
My words, a desert  
My heart, a stone  
You, a new scar on my bones.  
We may forever be adrift,  
Or fast friends tomorrow.  
But today,  
Today  
Whateveryou do,  
Whatever you say,  
It is not okay.  
It is not okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short, free-form poems. original work. Poems that are (mostly) based on emotions)
> 
> Also posting on  
> Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aiman.t.syed/  
> Medium: https://aiman-t-syed.medium.com


	16. Pain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I usually don't say what I mean with a particular poem , but I think this one might be slightly confusing with it. This poem is written with generational trauma in mind

A medal bequeathed upon you  
Which burns.  
It marks your skin  
And brands you  
In turn.  
You've always seen them  
Like this.  
In pain.  
Now you are in pain,  
Just like them.  
Ribbons of fate  
In fetters,  
Just like them.  
This medal  
You have to take with you.  
Carry it in hands,  
On heart,  
Drag it by limbs,  
Or tear it apart.  
Whatever you do,  
It's yours.  
You must take it with you,  
Just like them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short, free-form poems. original work. Poems that are (mostly) based on emotions)
> 
> Also posting on  
> Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aiman.t.syed/  
> Medium: https://aiman-t-syed.medium.com


	17. Little

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For all my readers

We're average,  
Little hearts  
With starbursts inside.  
We're normal,  
Little hands  
Holding moons alight.  
We're ordinary,  
Little feet  
Carrying star dust astride.  
We're common,  
Little shoulders  
Pushing atlas aside.  
We're typical,  
Little mouths  
Singing cosmos to life.  
We're simple  
You and me,  
We're all the same.  
Walking skies,  
In our little lives.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short, free-form poems. original work. Poems that are (mostly) based on emotions)
> 
> Come find me on  
> Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aiman.t.syed/  
> Medium: https://aiman-t-syed.medium.com


	18. Desperate

What did you win   
When you turned me away?  
Turned deaf to my pleas  
Pretended I was strange.  
Did not look at me,  
Desperate for affection   
Crying for love.  
Like a wordless savage   
Mercilessly shoved.  
Did I ask too much   
Or want too much?   
For you to like me  
As you liked everyone else.   
For you to love me  
As you loved everyone else.   
Why was I the rotten fruit  
In this blood tree   
And its roots?  
I won't ask again   
So you don't have to say.  
What did you lose   
When you turned me away.


	19. Words

These words I've buried in myself   
Today they're rattling my teeth.  
They've climbed up my gullet  
They're going to be free.  
My tongue swallowed them once,   
But cannot do it again.   
They've tied that monster down.  
My teeth, clamped shut  
How long will they hold out?  
Perhaps they would   
Be able to chew a few words.   
Ten, twenty, fifty  
Maybe a hundred.  
But what of the millions upon millions,   
Dead inside.   
How long have I kept them in,   
Eaten them, cut and sliced.  
Knowing this would happen one day,  
As dead are bound to rise.  
Surely these words too  
Will claw themselves out.   
It happened without warning,   
And now they're unbound.  
My teeth will not   
Hold much longer,  
They will knock them down.

**Author's Note:**

> Short, free-form poems. original work. Poems that are (mostly) based on emotions)
> 
> Come find me on  
> Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aiman.t.syed/  
> Medium: https://aiman-t-syed.medium.com  
> tumblr: poema-day


End file.
